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Hi Neil, I just started playing guitar and using your site recently and I love it, thanks..Ive been playing the target beginner lessons and got to Who'll Stop the Rain in chords and strumming. I skipped over to the full song for fun and have been trying to play it. My problem is that the "full playthrough" has a lot more detail, picking i guess, than the lesson when you actually go through the left and right hands. And in the "slow it down" section you play the chords much more like Im doing it as opposed to the playthrough. So im wondering how Im going to learn to actually play all the notes the way you do in the playthrough?
Thanks again, Brian

Hi Brian,

Sometimes in the play-through of simple strumming songs, Neil will add in the melody to make the song more recognizable. But when it's a beginner song, the lesson will generally just include chords, and you can just sing the melody!

Who'll Stop the Rain was the first song I learned when I joined TG, too. Good luck with it!

Adding melody notes to the strumming pattern is a more intermediate level maneuver that as a beginner, you probably shouldn't expect to be able to do yet. That will definitely come as you advance as a guitar player, but for now, focusing on the right hand strumming pattern and the left hand chord changes is enough to make the song sound great, especially if you can sing the song.

ah..got it...thanks...guess im getting a bit ahead of myself.

Hello blehrer

As explained above, you probably are listening to the melody being picked out as Neil is strumming.

If you are interested in having a look at what's involved in picking out a song melody, Neil discuss it a little at the end of the Yellow Submarine lesson.

Once you have an idea what your trying to do it may give you something to aim for.

Link To:
Yellow Submarine Lesson

Cheers

TheresHopeYet